


The Tale of Three Sisters

by IgnisFlos



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abusive Parents, Angst, Character studies, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, I’ll add more tags as I go along, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Mild Language, Rating May Change, Sane Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Sort Of, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, andromeda narcissa and bellatrixs childhood, druella and walburga are horrible, eventually, its gonna get dark, sirius is a troublemaker, slow burn with andromeda and ted eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:46:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23775577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IgnisFlos/pseuds/IgnisFlos
Summary: Bellatrix had stopped listening to her mother after five minutes, she just stared at the wall. Andromeda was looking out the window. Narcissa was currently the topic of Druella’s insults, and she was staring at the floor with wet cheeks.
Relationships: Cygnus Black & Andromeda Black Tonks, Cygnus Black & Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Cygnus Black & Narcissa Black Malfoy, Cygnus Black/Druella Rosier Black, Druella Rosier Black & Andromeda Black Tonks, Druella Rosier Black & Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Druella Rosier Black & Narcissa Black Malfoy
Kudos: 13





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the black family is my favourite harry potter family so i knew i’d eventually write a fic about them and here’s the first chapter
> 
> enjoy :)

1965

Bellatrix Black’s first three years at Hogwarts were, to say the least, disappointing and uneventful, but with her fourth year fast approaching and Narcissa starting school, she was going to make it worth remembering. First, though, she’d need to survive Narcissa’s “growing up party” as her mother called it. Bellatrix’s mother, Druella Black, had thrown a party for both her and her younger sister Andromeda when they started Hogwarts. Bellatrix, naturally, had grown to hate parties. Her mother hosts multiple parties each year and drags her to parties elsewhere as well; simply put, she was bored of them and wouldn’t object if the Minister of Magic suddenly made them illegal. Bellatrix would much rather sit in the library and read a good book or practice her spell casting. She knew she needed to be prepared, she knew of The Dark Lord and his ideas, no matter how hard her parents tried to shield her from it all, she knew.

Andromeda, on the other hand, refused to acknowledge Lord Voldemort or anything concerning him. She wanted a quieter life than what was inevitably going to happen, so she told their father that she was against the war and hasn't said a word on the matter since. Their differences aside; Bellatrix and Andromeda were quite similar when it came to parties, they’d both stand away from the crowds avoiding any attention. Andromeda, like Bellatrix, was dreading Narcissa’s party.

Currently, both sisters were helping Flopsy the house elf prepare the food on their mother’s request. And by food, their mother meant too much cake. Victoria sponge, chocolate, red velvet, lemon drizzle; and Narcissa’s birthday cake, a three tiered strawberry cake with white chocolate frosting and eleven candles. To make matters worse for the two sisters, Druella had demanded the cakes be made without magic. Both had sighed and protested. Although it had no effect on their mother, she had told them they could get Flopsy to help. Bellatrix mimicked Druella once she was out of earshot, making Andromeda laugh, before heading to the kitchen and muttering about how “muggles can’t cook anyway.” Baking cupcakes was one thing, but five different cakes for a formal party? oh, it was going to go so badly.

It was noon and Bellatrix had just put the lemon drizzle cake in the fridge while Andromeda set the timer for the chocolate cake to bake. Flopsy had already made the victoria sponge and red velvet cake; even if Bellatrix convinced the little house elf to use some magic, no one would ever know, it’s not like it’s very noticeable, anyway. After the three of them cleaned up the mess and measured the ingredients for Narcissa’s cake, each of them had taken to making one tier each. Flopsy was making the first tier, Andromeda the second, and Bellatrix the third. It was obvious for Bellatrix to make the smallest part of the cake as she was, by far, the worst at baking. One time, when she was twelve, her mother had made her bake her own birthday cake. Needless to say, it was a disaster. A big one. The oven had, somehow, blown up, and the kitchen caught on fire. Her parents had to completely refurbish it. She ended up grounded for two weeks. Today, though, she told herself she was going to bake a lovely cake that wasn’t completely black, or blown up. Or not cooked properly. Or missing ingredients. Anyway, Bellatrix had help, so what could possibly go wrong?

After the three tiers had been put in the oven, Bellatrix slumped against the kitchen counter and groaned, “bake cakes the muggle way, she said,” Bellatrix raised her voice a few octaves to imitate her mother, “it’s more authentic, she said.”

Andromeda was watching the cakes rise in the oven, but giggled, “stop it, she can probably hear you.”

“Nah, she can’t, she’s probably too busy fussing over Narcissa.”

Andromeda simply hummed and shrugged her shoulders, still watching the cakes. Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. She often found her younger sister slightly strange. For instance, Andromeda was in the same Herbology class as Ted Tonks, who was a mudblood, and they would sometimes do their homework together. Bellatrix had asked why, and Andromeda simply stated that she was using him. Bellatrix ignored it. Andromeda, though, was lying, and found Ted to be a sweet boy; he regularly sneaks cookies from the Hogwarts kitchen and gives them to his classmates. He was excellent at Herbology, too. Okay, maybe there was some truth in using him, but he was still sweet. 

“Uh, Bella, why isn’t your cake tier rising properly?” Andromeda looked at her sister, a little concerned.

Bellatrix peered in the oven, “how am i meant to know?”

The younger sister looked at the recipe their mother had provided, “did you put self raising flour in?”

“Yes.”

“What about…” Andromeda looked around the kitchen at the different ingredients they had used, “what about baking powder?”

Bellatrix was silent for a moment before looking at her sister, “Oh.”

Andromeda sighed and rushed over to the oven and took the smaller, flatter cake out before calling Flopsy back to the kitchen. The house elf had noticed the mistake right away and quickly vanished the failed cake tier. She made a new one with magic just as the timer dinged, both girls thanked the small elf before she left to set up Narcissa’s birthday decorations. As Bellatrix cleaned up the kitchen, Andromeda started on the frosting. A big cloud of icing sugar landed on Andromeda’s face as she measured it; Bellatrix looked over at her and burst out laughing, pointing at her younger sister’s face.

“You look like- like a Georgian, with your white face!” She covered her mouth with her hands to try and quiet down, but was unsuccessful.

Andromeda threw some icing sugar at Bellatrix, “shut up, Bellatrix, it’s not funny,” she threw some more. Her sister shrieked and tried to avoid the white cloud, but ended up the same, and now had a white face too.

“Hey!” Bellatrix splashed some water from the sink, and the icing sugar was now stuck to Andromeda’s face. The two of them carried on splashing water and throwing clouds of icing sugar at each other; the kitchen was a mess but neither cared nor noticed, both sisters were determined to win, even if it was impossible to do so. Eventually they both tired out and stopped. Andromeda looked round the kitchen first and cringed. Bellatrix followed suit. They both looked at each other. Then to the mess. Then back to each other.

The sisters both sighed, “Flopsy…” the house elf appeared and squeaked at the mess they had made, smiling a little before clicking her fingers and cleaning the mess up, as well as both of the young girls. Andromeda loved their house elf, no matter how much she was told that house elves are inferior by her family, she’d always hold her head up high and tell them they’re wrong. Bellatrix reluctantly liked Flopsy, though she’d never dare say it out loud, she was too proud to admit that she was fond of a house elf.

“Girls, I hope all the cakes are ready, there’s an hour until guests start arriving and I need you both to help with the decorations and get ready,” Druella Black appeared in the kitchen doorway with her arms crossed. She looked around and sighed harshly when she saw Narcissa’s cake not even put together or iced yet, “Flopsy, finish the cake. Quickly. You two, go to the ballroom and finish the decorations.”

“Yes, mother,” Bellatrix and Andromeda quickly exited the kitchen, heading for the ballroom. Honestly, Bellatrix didn’t know how her mother thought they were going to put decorations up without magic: neither of them are the legal age to do it outside of school yet. Bellatrix was fourteen and Andromeda was thirteen. The two of them struggled for fifteen minutes before Bellatrix rolled her eyes and whipped her wand out, hastily putting up the rest of the decorations and dragging her younger sister upstairs to get ready. It was Narcissa’s birthday, after all, they had to look their best.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got so close to my word count goal and then i got writers block and then i eventually finished this at 2am and it’s now 3am whoops

Bellatrix was going to kill Sirius. It had only been one hour of Narcissa’s party before he decided to start throwing food at people. She saved his skin yet again and took the blame when her father had caught him throwing a slice of apple pie: she told him it was a dare, and now she’s grounded until next week when she goes back to school. Sirius was sent over to his mother, who promptly slapped him round the head. And Bellatrix was sent to her room. She knew she was going to receive a lecture later from her mother about being responsible and setting a good example for the rest of the family. She was responsible. She was a model student who never got caught throwing hexes around. The professors knew it was her, but you can’t prosecute what you can’t prove. Besides, she was top of her class in every subject, she deserved a little fun hexing people she didn’t like. Particularly one Lucius Malfoy.

Speaking of, Bellatrix looked out her bedroom window and scoffed, Malfoy was sucking up to her little sister. He was going to be in his second year at Hogwarts next week. Narcissa always had a soft spot for him and Bellatrix thought he was a pompous idiot. And Andromeda, she says he’s too obsessed with himself; the two older sisters disliked the boy, they both agreed that Narcissa was too good for him. But the youngest Black sister had a mind of her own, she’s been close with him ever since they were children. Then again, Lucius had always treated Narcissa with respect; she supposed she could give him some slack, it’s not like he’s an orca playing with it’s food. It still didn’t change the fact that Bellatrix didn’t like him. She rolled her eyes as he picked a flower and gave it to Narcissa. She didn’t hate him. Yet.

Bellatrix huffed and closed her curtains, it wouldn’t hurt to sneak back down to the party. She hated parties - they were tiring and tedious, she’d dance with a few people, talk to her relatives, and stand there while her mother talked about who she’s going to marry - but she didn’t like being left out. She didn’t want to miss anything, and anyway, what else did she have to do? She sat on her bed and stared at her clock. It was 9pm. Perhaps if she went down the back stairs instead of the main ones and entered the ballroom through the kitchens… maybe she wouldn’t get caught. If she did this her mother would lock her in her room for the rest of the week. Bellatrix paced round her room for what felt like an hour before she decided to go downstairs. Screw the consequences. It’s not like she had much else to lose, just her freedom, so, down the back stairs she went.

Bellatrix wasn’t even half way through the kitchen door when she heard Andromeda behind her. She quietly cursed and turned around. If her mother heard her swear like the devil she’d surely be on the receiving end of a slap. Merlin be damned, Andromeda just had to screw up her plans: truth be told, Andromeda was more responsible than Bellatrix, she didn’t like obeying the rules - especially when said rules were stupid and stopped her from missing out on the fun. The look on the middle sister’s face was nothing but concern. Bellatrix closed her eyes and sighed, she already knew what was coming - a lecture on doing what she was told and not disobeying mother or father lest she be treated like a prisoner in her own home. Well, the joke’s on them, she already felt like a prisoner.

“Don’t get caught Bella,” Andromeda said.

Bellatrix looked at her as if she were a ghost. Was that it? No lecture or telling off?

Her sister rolled her eyes, “I’m not a monster, stop looking at me like that!”

She huffed a quick “sorry” and rolled her eyes back at her sister. She was about to continue her master plan of sneaking back to the party, but her mother’s voice in the kitchen made her freeze. This wasn’t going well. At all. Then again, nothing ever did, there was always some sort of hiccup in her plans. Actually, screw that, this was a mountain blocking her path.

When she was in her first year of Hogwarts she slipped into the restricted section of the library for some extra reading; she had the book hidden in her bag, she had just gotten out of the library, but some mudblood in her year called Valerie Roberts snitched on her. She had detention for a week. Stupid Valerie Roberts. She had cast the pimple jinx on her, of course, Bellatrix couldn’t let some scrawny girl with ears too big for her head and giant’s like feet get away with telling on her. After she served out her detention, she went straight back to the library and got the book: it was just a book about the healing properties of some dangerous plants, she didn’t see the harm of reading it.

Andromeda dragged Bellatrix into the broom cupboard next to them and peeped through a small gap she left in the door. Their mother was standing outside and talking to their aunt Walburga. Bellatrix couldn’t make out what they were saying - the noise from the party was too loud, another reason she hated them - but it sounded like her mother was complaining about her, she heard the word “insolent” and knew she was the topic of conversation, and Walburga was complaining about Sirius. He was being called a brat. Andromeda froze when their mother stared at the door and reached for the door handle.

Well, shit.

She didn’t know if it was pure luck, a godly miracle, or if Narcissa knew they were in there, but she had pulled their mother and aunt away. Both sisters let out a long breath they were holding. That could’ve gone so much better, but it also could have gone a lot worse: if Bellatrix and Andromeda were caught, there was no doubt that their mother would stop them from going to school and lock them away for the year instead. Bellatrix shuddered. How she survived living at home before Hogwarts she didn’t know. Druella had never liked Bellatrix, she was her firstborn and unluckily for her, Bellatrix wasn’t born a son. As for Andromeda, well, Druella repeatedly voices that she’s not “good enough to be a pureblood.” Andromeda didn’t even want to know what her mother meant by that.

Bellatrix moved to open the door, but before her hand could touch the handle the door was yanked open and Narcissa’s grinning face was right in front of her. The youngest sister’s mint green dress had muddy stains on it and her hair - which was once in a neat bun - was now messy. Bellatrix and Andromeda looked her up and down, both raising an eyebrow when they noticed several scratches on both her arms.

Narcissa shrugged, “I climbed a tree with Lucius and I fell out of it,” she grinned a little more and crossed her arms, “you two should be thanking me, I saw you both go in the cupboard and stayed to find out why. You were hiding from mother, weren’t you? That’s why I dragged her and aunt Walburga away.”

Andromeda hugged Narcissa and said a quick thanks before going on, in detail, to tell her how Bellatrix was kicked from the party and nearly got busted trying to sneak back in. Bellatrix glared at them both whenever they laughed.

“Why don’t you join us, Cissa? It can be a heist!”

“It can’t be a heist, Andromeda, we’re not stealing anything,” Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

“Well, what if we steal some cake and take it up to our rooms?”

Bellatrix’s eyes lit up, “you might be onto something, Andy. We can all steal some food and take it upstairs.” She looked at the youngest sister, “you in, Narcissa?”

Narcissa looked at the floor, “I don’t want to upset mother, and I don’t want to leave Sirius and Regulus out…”

Andromeda put a hand on her sister’s shoulder, “Sirius and Regulus can join in, and what mother doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”

The three sisters created their perfect, foolproof plan. Bellatrix was to go in the kitchen and take some food while Andromeda found Sirius and Narcissa found Regulus. Then, they’d each take turns stealing some food from the ballroom: Bellatrix, of course, stayed to stealing from the kitchen as she couldn’t go into the ballroom. It wouldn’t be any fun if she got caught. Eventually the five of them had enough food that Andromeda’s bedroom looked like a kitchen pantry. Much to everyone’s astonishment, Narcissa had somehow managed to bring up her entire birthday cake.

It wasn’t long before Sirius threw a piece of cake at Bellatrix, who immediately threw a piece back.

“Hey, I saved your ass earlier, you have no right!” She was immediately scolded by both Andromeda and Narcissa for swearing in front of Regulus.

The cake was eaten within the hour and the three girls and Sirius - who now all felt sick to the stomach - were sat on the floor. Narcissa’s cake had given Regulus a rather unfortunate sugar high: he decided it would be fun to use the bed as a bouncy castle, break it in the process, and puke all over it. Flopsy came to clean it all up and fix the bed, of course. The elf would do anything for those kids.

Flopsy had arrived just in time, it must have been thirty seconds after she cleaned the food away that Walburga and Druella opened Andromeda’s bedroom door. Both mothers glared at their children before Sirius and Regulus were dragged out of the room by their ears. Walburga was yelling about Sirius being a “bad influence.”

Druella, on the other hand, preferred not to be physical with her children. She rather liked using her words. Her tongue was as sharp as a knife, and she used it often. Very often. Bellatrix was worthless, Andromeda was an idiot, and Narcissa was weak-willed.

Bellatrix had stopped listening to her mother after five minutes, she just stared at the wall. Andromeda was looking out the window. Narcissa was currently the topic of Druella’s insults, and she was staring at the floor with wet cheeks.

“You’re better than this, Narcissa. It’s not like you to sneak away from your own party,” Druella looked at her oldest child, “Bellatrix put you up to this. You need to think for once instead of doing everything your sister does.”

Narcissa opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it when she saw the look on her mother’s face. All three sisters were not to leave their rooms for the rest of the week.

Finally, a week later, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa were on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Bellatrix looked at Narcissa and remembered the feeling of seeing everything for the first time. Even though they had been surrounded by magic their entire lives, none of them were allowed on the platform until they were headed to Hogwarts; their father said it made going to school “more special” for them. After saying goodbye to their parents, all three sisters found an empty compartment on the train. They were soon joined by Lucius Malfoy, who sat next to Naricssa, much to her joy; Bellatrix’s friend, Eliza Parkinson, sat between her and Andromeda; and Rodolphus Lestrange, who sat next to Lucius.

It would be an entertaining year, no doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed and i hope everyone’s staying safe out there <3


	3. Chapter 3

Narcissa loved Bellatrix. Dearly. She truly did, but sometimes, her older sister annoyed the hell out of her, and today was one of those times. Bellatrix had just received a howler from their mother because she got caught hexing some boy in her year: her excuse was he “looked at her the wrong way,” and as much as Narcissa hates being stared at, she can’t agree that the correct response is violence. She was just eleven, she was young and didn’t know how everything worked yet. However, if Narcissa Black knew one thing, it’s that there was always an alternative to violence.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes at the angry, screaming letter and continued eating her lunch. Andromeda sat with her face in her hands. And Narcissa’s new friend, Rhea Zabini, stared at the three of them. In fact, the entire great hall was silent and staring. This was not a good way to end her first week of school.

It was embarrassing to say the least, to be sat next to someone on the receiving end of a howler; it drew attention to itself, it was loud, and this particular one spat paper at Bellatrix as if to say ‘screw you’ before ripping itself to shreds.

Narcissa wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear.

The great hall was back to casually eating lunch, and although it was barely half a minute, it felt like half a lifetime. The enchanted clouds on the ceiling were floating aimlessly without worry and Narcissa looked up at them to calm herself. She had charms after lunch with the Ravenclaws. Lucius, Bellatrix, and Andromeda had already taught her a few things about all her classes. Lucius helped her get ahead on the history of magic and astronomy; Bellatrix helped with defence against the dark arts and charms; and Andromeda helped with potions and herbology. They all turned their noses up at charms and responded with the likes of “it’s easy,” or “you’ll be fine.”

Bellatrix was slapping her arm.

“Stop staring at your food,” she said.

“Oh, right.”

Narcissa picked up her sandwich, and then put it right down again. Bellatrix gave her a weird look. Now that her sister was talking, there was something the youngest wanted to say - she’d most likely get yelled at later, but it was better to be honest then pent up her feelings and explode later.

“That howler was embarrassing, Bellatrix,” Narcissa said.

“No it wasn’t.”

Narcissa took a deep breath, “yes it was! I had to sit here next to you while you were getting yelled at by a letter and I felt like everyone was staring at me. You might not be embarrassed but I am, and I bet Andy is too.”

Andromeda kept her eyes focused on her food, “Don't drag me into this.”

“Grow a backbone, Narcissa,” the oldest said.

“Think about how other people feel for once, especially your family,” Narcissa stood and grabbed an apple, that would have to do for lunch. She couldn’t stay here any longer, “come on, Rhea, we’ve got charms.”

As she walked away she heard Andromeda start to give Bellatrix a lecture on being a good influence and taking into consideration how others feel. Bellatrix scowled. Loudly.

Narcissa has always been an extrovert, she was the social one out of the three sisters. But there was a quiet content being away from busy crowds, it gave her time to stop and put life on pause for a moment - life was pretty fast-paced, being a Black, the family was often socialising - but it didn’t mean she hated being around people. It was the opposite. Narcissa loved people. She loved the laughing and the smiles and the buzz she got from meeting new people.

Narcissa and Rhea were halfway to charms and they intended on getting there early, because maybe the professor would be nice and give them some house points each for being enthusiastic. Well, that was until they were stopped in the middle of the hallway by a little “excuse me” coming from behind them.

This was one person Narcissa did not want to meet.

“You’re Bellatrix Black’s sister, aren’t you?” The voice belonged to a blonde girl with a peacock quill and a notepad. This was unmistakably Rita Skeeter.

Narcissa fought back a groan, Bellatrix told both her and Andromeda about Rita, she and Bellatrix were in the same year. Gossip was Rita Skeeter’s food. She thrived off of it. Rita spread a rumor about Eliza Parkinson a year ago, and in retaliation Bellatrix put green ants in Rita’s bed and threatened to do worse. Rita hasn’t been near her since. Much to the entire house’s annoyance, Rita was a Slytherin.

“We’re not giving you any gossip,” Rhea said, “let’s just go.”

Rita ignored her, “I said you’re Bellatrix Black’s sister. I heard bits of the howler she got,” she stalked over to Narcissa, “wanna tell me about it?”

Rhea tugged at Narcissa’s arm to get her to leave, but she shook her hand away.

“No, I don’t want to tell you about it.”

“Don’t you want to get revenge on your bitch of a sister?”

Rita stepped back at the look Narcissa gave her.

“Don’t you dare call Bella that. She told me about you. You take people’s words or actions and then twist them to suit whatever false story you want to tell. You’re a leech.” Narcissa said.

She looked Rita up and down before turning around with her nose in the air and heading to charms with Rhea. Physical violence may not be the answer to Narcissa, but violent words she could do. And she was going to perfect that. Just like her mother.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i finished writing and i looked at the word count and it’s EXACTLY 2000 and that’s perfection
> 
> anyways it’s a rollercoaster and i hope you enjoy!

The Slytherin common room was normally loud, especially when the sixth year boys decided to hang around in there. But today… today said boys were asking girls to the Yule Ball and they thought gathering the entirety of Slytherin house for an audience would be fun. Most of the girls were giggling and playing along, even the ones who already had dates, and Bellatrix couldn’t stand the sound of it; she heard enough giggling at home from Narcissa whenever the Malfoys visited and brought Lucius with them. Then again, she didn’t blame them for the way they were acting. Rodolphus Lestrange was one of the sixth years. And, in Bellatrix’s opinion, the most annoying. She hated him - he was a prat, he thought way too highly of himself, and not to mention he was sexist - she fought the urge to slap him every time he opened his mouth. Rodolphus was the leader of the group and, naturally, the loudest. He was Quidditch captain for Slytherin, the most popular boy in school, and - as much as Bellatrix hated to admit it - he was handsome.

His big brother Rabastan, in contrast, was quieter and had less of an ego. The Blacks and Lestranges rarely saw each other both outside of school and at school, but when they did, Rabastan was the kinder of the two brothers. He graduated Hogwarts four years ago and was yet to marry a pureblood woman: his excuse, to everyone, was that he wanted a solid career in the Ministry first, that way he could easily provide for his family without having to worry about needing inheritance.

If Bellatrix ever said anything like that she’d be grounded and told that her place in the world was to raise the next generation of purebloods. She was just fourteen but she knew, she knew deep down, that she’d never do that. She had to do better. Make a change and screw tradition.

Bellatrix was sat by one of the windows with Narcissa, Andromeda, Eliza Parkinson, and Narcissa’s friend Rhea Zabini. Narcissa and Rhea were sitting on the floor with pillows and blankets and were eagerly watching the show in front of them, it was like they were hooked on a fishing line and getting reeled in. Andromeda was sat at a table next to the window scribbling down her potions homework; and Bellatrix and Eliza were sat on the padded windowsill. Now would be a good time to sneak out and go to the courtyard for some fresh air, but knowing her luck professor Dumbledore would catch her and hand out some detentions.

That old man had never liked her, from the first day she arrived he’s been eyeing Bellatrix, waiting for her to slip up and accidentally murder someone so he could finally expel her. The headmaster, professor Dippet, on the other hand, rather liked Bellatrix: he thought she was an incredibly bright student with lots of potential.

Laughter as loud as a lion’s roar erupted from the common room and Eliza rolled her eyes. Bellatrix looked at her and raised an eyebrow - they had both been pretty invested in their history of magic homework: it was a five thousand word essay about the witch trials from 1542-1600 and it was due tomorrow - and she wondered how Eliza had overhead whatever joke was told.

Eliza opened her mouth and quickly shut it again. She was about to tell Bellatrix what she overhead, but was now looking at Rodolphus Lestrange instead, who was on his way over.

Great.

As quickly as she shut her mouth, Eliza grabbed her things and sped over to the other side of the room. Narcissa, Andromeda, and Rhea followed suit. The entire common room was watching. Rodolphus was right in front of Bellatrix. He towered over her, and even if she stood, it wouldn’t change. He had a grin on his face, as if he’d just captured a prize. Bellatrix started to think she was going to be a punchline to one of his jokes. But then the bastard opened his mouth.

“Wanna be my date to the Yule Ball, Bella?”

Oh, so she was going to be put on the spot in front of everyone, was she? Two could play at that game.

“Wanna leave me alone, Roddy?”

“Don’t call me Roddy.” He said, and his grin disappeared.

“Then don’t call me Bella.” She said.

Bellatrix knew enough about Rodolphus to know that he hated being called any nickname in front of his peers. Apparently it made him look weak. And he especially hated “Roddy.”

He rolled his eyes as she went back to her homework. The corners of her mouth twitched up slightly when she heard him scoff and walk away. Finally.

It wasn’t even two minutes before someone was standing in front of her again. She abruptly stopped writing and took a deep breath before calmly placing her quill and paper down next to her. Too calmly.

“What?” She looked up, already glaring with her teeth grit. It was a mudblood. Her face contorted to shock for a second, and instead of letting herself look like that, Bellatrix forced herself to look bored. She could see past him and the entire common room had eyes on her. Again.

The mudblood boy was meek. He had his hands folded in front of him and attempted to look as confident as possible before speaking.

“My name’s Timothy Smith… you don’t know me but I know you and we’ve got classes together and I was wondering if you wanted to be my date to the ball?” 

She stayed silent and let it drag out. People started snickering. He went red. And finally, after what felt like an eternity for him, Bellatrix stood, with a very condescending smile on her face.

“I wouldn’t expect a mudblood like you to be very smart,” she said. She took a step towards him and he stepped back, “of course we have classes together, Timothy, and of course I know who you are. We’re both in the same house and year, dumbass.”

By now he was backed up far enough that he fell onto a chair near Andromeda. Timothy had shrunk into himself like a tortoise. But Bellatrix wasn’t done yet, she placed both hands on the armrests of the chair, leaned over him, and continued speaking.

“What makes you, a mudblood, think you can talk to me? I’m a Black. You are nothing. Nothing but a dirty, rotten, worthless mudblood.”

The laughter lasted less than ten seconds, it stopped as Andromeda jumped to the boy’s defence. Everyone stared at the middle Black sister in shock and the silence was deafening.

“Just leave him alone, Bella,” Andromeda said.

This time, Bellatrix couldn’t keep the shock from her face. Her own sister, defending a mudblood? Andromeda stood still with her arms crossed, and even though she was thirteen and a year younger than Bellatrix, the room was silent and she commanded everyone’s attention. Even the sixth year boys were silent and staring.

Her own sister. If it wasn’t for the audience they had, Bellatrix would be backing away and screaming at Andromeda. Why would she do this? Why would she defend a mudblood? Why would she take the side against her older sister? It didn’t make any sense to Bellatrix and she couldn’t comprehend why Andromeda would do such a thing: after all, Bellatrix had said nothing when Andromeda stared doing homework with Ted Tonks - she’d even promised to keep it a secret from the rest of their family. They’d never been against each other, they always had each other’s backs. They were partners. Sisters. Bellatrix defended Andromeda every single time without fail - she’s taken punishments for her, she’s taken abuse for her, she’s taken the blame. So, why? Her own fucking sister.

After what felt like hours, people started muttering. She stayed silent for too long. It was a punch in the gut.

And then Bellatrix snapped at her younger sister.

“What? Don’t you like it when I’m rude to a mudblood, little Andy?” She didn’t mean to speak in a child-like voice, but she did, and it worked, because now Andromeda’s eyes were wide and her mouth was agape.

“I- no I—“ 

Bellatrix cut her sister off, “You wanna defend him? What are you, a blood traitor?” Bellatrix lit her wand with Incendio and brought her face closer to her sister; the light of the small fire illuminated both their faces, and Bellatrix’s features looked harsher than they normally did. She continued speaking like a child, “because I can burn your face right off the wall, you know.”

“I just don’t want you to get into trouble, Bellatrix!” Andromeda said before running off to her dormitory.

She didn’t mean to be so horrible, or make her younger sister cry, or make her run away, but the words just slipped out. She just… snapped.

Everyone parted like the sea as she walked past to retake her spot by the window. Bellatrix felt powerful, and she liked it. She carried on with her homework and scowled when a wet spot appeared on the paper. And then another. She dabbed the parchment dry with her sleeve and Bellatrix forced herself to stop crying; She wasn’t ten, she shouldn’t be crying over some stupid argument. She only had two hundred or so words left, so she quickly finished her homework and dried the ink with a quick spell.

Only when she moved to stand did she notice Rodolphus Lestrange hovering over her. This time he looked proud, not cocky, and Bellatrix wondered what pointless question he had for her this time. 

“We’d make a power couple, yknow. If only you’d go to the Yule Ball with me.” Now he looked cocky.

Bellatrix sighed and before she could reply, a brilliant idea hit her. A very, very brilliant idea. One that she’d most certainly get in lots of trouble for, but Merlin’s beard would it be worth it. Bellatrix smirked at Rodolphus before strutting past him and over to Eliza.

“Hey, Eliza, do you want to be my date to the ball?”

It took a second, but Eliza Parkinson quickly caught on to Bellatrix’s plan and promptly agreed. Oh, the look on everyone’s faces was priceless. Rodolphus protested about how girls can’t be each other’s dates, but was silenced by a roll of parchment thrown at his head, and he quickly set off to find out who threw it. Bellatrix knew it would only be a matter of time until someone snitched - probably Rodolphus - and told her parents who her date was, but screw tradition, because humiliating boys was much more fun, and Bellatrix would rather spend time with her best friend than be some random boy’s date to the ball. Plus, they could both go dress shopping together.

Pureblood society was like walking across a desert full of scorpions, one wrong move and you’d be stung. It was a giant chess game, and the children were the pawns. As much as their parents endorsed it, Bellatrix and Andromeda were children and actively avoided partaking in the disputes between families. It was annoying, stressful, and usually ended with abuse. Narcissa, on the other hand, was happy to be included. She was a picture perfect version of her mother. As similar as she was though, Narcissa was also kinder and warmer.

Bellatrix was glad to have Eliza; her best friend was her support system. She kept her grounded. If it wasn’t for her, Bellatrix would be off her rocker by now and her parents would be to blame. Eliza was talking her ear off about what dress she wanted and how she couldn’t wait to see everyone’s reactions when they walk into the Great Hall together. Bellatrix smiled.

They had a month to wait, but she couldn’t wait either, so both girls stayed up late laughing about boys and planning their looks. It truly was a brilliant plan, and patience was never Bellatrix’s strong suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!


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